Here's something I hear from students constantly: "I know what I want to say, but I use 'um' and 'like' so much that I probably sound unprepared." Then they panic that they've tanked their Fluency score.
Let me be blunt. You're not alone, and it's not quite as catastrophic as you think. But there's a real difference between acceptable hesitation and filler-word abuse, and if you don't understand that difference, you're leaving band points on the table.
In my 12 years of teaching IELTS, I've watched students swing between two extremes. Some cram their speech with so many fillers that examiners can barely follow them. Others become so terrified of hesitating that they sound robotic, which tanks their naturalness score anyway. The sweet spot is much narrower than you'd expect.
The IELTS Speaking test assesses four things: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Notice that "never using fillers" isn't on that list.
Fluency is what trips most students up. The band descriptor for Band 7 says: "Speaks at length without much noticeable effort or loss of coherence. May occasionally repeat words or rephrase, but this does not impede communication." Band 6, by contrast, says: "Produces extended stretches of speech, though may include some pausing to search for words or grammatical forms."
See the difference? Both bands allow pausing and searching. What separates them is whether it's noticeable and whether it impedes your message. A single "um" every 15 seconds? Barely noticeable. One every 3 seconds? Now you're losing coherence, and the examiner's attention drifts.
Real Talk: The examiner isn't judging you for hesitating. They're judging whether your hesitations distract from your message. Pausing to think is normal. Peppering every sentence with IELTS filler words tanks your score.
Some fillers are genuinely acceptable in natural speech. In fact, using them sparingly makes you sound more like a native English speaker, not less.
These five have something in common: they're all common in natural English speech, and they advance your thought rather than just buying time. They also appear far less frequently than the ones you need to eliminate.
I've seen students drop from a Band 7 to a Band 6 almost entirely because of these three.
This is the big one. Not because it's wrong to use it once or twice, but because most students use it reflexively. I had a student named Marco who said "um" 47 times in a 12-minute speaking test. Forty-seven. The examiner even wrote a note about it.
The problem? "Um" signals your brain is completely blank. It sounds like you're scrambling. One per test? Fine. More than that, and you're eroding your fluency band.
Weak: "Um, well, um, I think that um, climate change is um, really important because um, the weather is getting warmer."
Better: "I think climate change is really important because the weather patterns are shifting, you know, in ways we're only starting to understand."
There's a massive difference between "I like pizza" and "That was, like, totally amazing." The second one is a verbal tic that screams either lack of preparation or casual non-native speech that examiners penalize.
In my experience, students who use "like" as a hesitation marker typically drop half a band in Fluency. It's that costly.
Weak: "So like, the book was like, really interesting, and the character was like, trying to achieve his goals, and like, it was very meaningful."
Better: "The book was really interesting. The main character was trying to achieve his goals, which made it very meaningful to read."
This one's tricky because I listed it as safe earlier. The difference is frequency. "You know" used once or twice per answer shows you're connecting with the examiner. Used five times? You sound nervous and unprepared.
I had a student, Yuki, who unconsciously said "you know" after every clause. It made her sound like she was constantly seeking validation instead of confidently sharing her thoughts.
These aren't traditional fillers, but they wreck your score just as badly because they're passive time-wasters.
Repeating a word or phrase when you're stalling is basically a filler. "The thing about the thing is the thing was really about the thing..." See how annoying that is?
If you catch yourself repeating, just pause instead. A two-second silence is far better than repetition. Examiners expect pausing. They don't expect your ideas to loop.
Phrases like "kind of," "sort of," "quite," and "I guess" signal uncertainty. When you say "I kind of think that technology is quite important," you're waffling. Say "I think technology is important" and own it.
Quick Win: The difference between "I kind of think" and "I think" is confidence. Examiners hear that difference. Removing one word changes how authoritative you sound.
Knowing which fillers are bad doesn't fix them. You need a concrete strategy.
Record yourself answering three IELTS questions for two minutes each. Listen back. Are you an "um" person? A "like" person? Do you repeat words? Do you say "you know" constantly? You can't fix what you don't see.
This is where most students mess up. They think silence is bad. It's not. A two-second pause while you organize your thoughts is completely acceptable and sounds more intelligent than stammering through with fillers.
Practice this: When you're about to say "um," instead pause. Count to two silently. Then speak. Do this 10 times per day for two weeks. Your brain will start rewiring to pause instead of fill.
Instead of pausing silently, use a real transition. "Well, let me think about that..." is so much better than "um, uh, um." You're signaling thought, not just noise.
Keep a list of these handy: "Well," "Let me consider," "That's a good question," "So," "Basically," "In other words." These are all legitimate speech patterns that buy you thinking time without sounding unprepared.
Here's something counterintuitive: students who speak faster tend to use more fillers. Why? Because they're running out of breath and ideas at the same time. When you speak slowly, not robotically slow, just naturally paced, you have room to think and form complete thoughts.
Aim for 120 to 140 words per minute. That's not slow. It's natural. It also gives you 2-3 seconds per sentence to plan what comes next. If you want to track your progress, try using a band score calculator to see how these changes affect your overall assessment.
Drill This: Answer one IELTS Part 1 question while recording yourself. Listen back and count fillers. Re-record the same answer, consciously replacing each filler with either a pause or a transition word. Do this three times. You'll notice improvement by the third attempt.
Let me show you how managing hesitation actually works in real IELTS questions.
Question: "Do you enjoy cooking?"
Weak Response (Band 5): "Um, yeah, I like, um, cooking is like, really fun for me, you know? Like, I enjoy, um, making different dishes and um, trying new recipes, you know?"
Strong Response (Band 7): "Yes, I do. I find it quite relaxing, actually. Well, I like experimenting with new recipes and trying different cuisines. It's a good way to unwind after work."
Count the difference: the weak version has 6 fillers in 25 seconds. The strong version has 1 filler ("Well") and sounds controlled and confident.
Topic: "Describe a book you've read recently that you enjoyed."
Weak Response (Band 5): "Um, I read this book like, two months ago, and um, it was like, really interesting. The author, um, was trying to um, explore this theme about um, relationships, and like, the characters were kind of, um, going through different challenges, you know?"
Strong Response (Band 7): "I read a novel called 'Educated' about two months ago. What attracted me to it was the story of a girl from a very isolated family who educates herself. Well, the author explores themes of independence and family conflict in a way that really resonated with me. The characters faced significant challenges, which made the book quite compelling."
For more help structuring your Part 2 answers, check out our guide on IELTS Speaking cue card tips and how to prepare in 1 minute.
Question: "Do you think social media has changed how people communicate?"
Weak Response (Band 5): "Um, yeah, I think, like, social media has definitely, um, changed communication, you know? Like, people are kind of, um, communicating differently now, and like, it's both good and bad, um, I suppose."
Strong Response (Band 7): "Absolutely. I think social media has fundamentally changed how we interact. On one hand, it's made communication faster and more global. On the other hand, I'd argue it's reduced the depth of our conversations. So there are trade-offs that we're still understanding."
If Part 3 is where you struggle with extended answers, our detailed breakdown on how to give extended answers in Part 3 walks you through the structure that gets Band 7.
There's a real difference between hesitating because you're thinking and hesitating because you're nervous.
Genuine hesitation sounds like this: "I think... well, there are probably several reasons for that. One is..." You pause mid-sentence in a natural spot, then continue with a full thought.
Artificial hesitation sounds like: "Um, I... uh... like... think... um... that..." Every word is chopped up. This signals your brain isn't engaged.
The second one kills your score. The first one is fine. Work on being in the first category by preparing well enough that your thoughts come from confidence, not panic.